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AFP Regina Chapter – Mentorship Program Outline and Guidelines
Benefits:
You aspire to be a great fundraiser. You have a new position in the profession, a donor database, some
professional development courses under your belt, and endless enthusiasm, but you may never so much as
asked for a donation. One of the ways you can enhance and develop your skills is by pairing with an
experienced professional fundraiser as part of AFP Regina Chapter’s Mentor Partnership Program.
The general public and AFP board members are concurrently seeking to raise the standards and expectations
of the professional fundraiser. It is essential to the growth of the profession that seasoned fundraisers give
back to the profession through guiding and advising the “protégé “. This practice maintains high standards and
facilitates the practice of effective and ethical fundraising.
When new fundraisers look to their AFP Chapter about membership and the benefits, one of the first
questions asked might be: "What can you do to support me as a fundraiser new to the industry?" The Mentor
Partnership Program is designed to support and encourage new fundraisers by utilizing the experience and
leadership of the Chapter’s members.
Purpose:
Mentoring is a mechanism to articulate and share the genius of teaching. It is AFP Regina’s intention to host a
mentoring program to help the novice fundraiser grow professionally with guidance from a seasoned
fundraiser.
The purpose of the Mentor Partnership Program is to offer a unique opportunity for the relatively new
fundraiser to be matched with a seasoned fundraiser who has the skills, knowledge and resources to offer
advice and provide one-on-one mentoring.
Participants:
Mentor: A senior professional with a minimum of five (5) years of fundraising experience and a member in
good standing of the AFP Regina Chapter.
Protégé: A fundraising professional with a minimum of one (1) year experience who is a member in good
standing of the AFP Regina Chapter.
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Partnership:
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The Mentor is responsible to making the initial contact with the protégé. A face-to-face visit is
recommended to determine at the outset of the relationship in which specific areas of fundraising the
protégé needs guidance.
The Mentor is encouraged to introduce the protégé to the resources available in the community and
encourage the attendance at AFP Regina Chapter events.
Relationship:
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The relationship is meant to be career specific and is not to be used or construed in any way as a
consulting relationship.
Mentors are encouraged to recommend appropriate resources i.e. courses, workshops, educational
opportunities, vendors or consultants.
We recommend the mentor and protégé advise their employer their intention to participate in the
Program.
Mentors and protégés will respect that some of the information they share about their organizations
is confidential in nature.
Guidelines:
The matches will be made throughout the year. An advisory Mentoring Committee will determine best fit and
matches. A member of the Mentor Partnership Program will make calls to both the mentor and the protégé
three (3) and six (6) months into the program to ensure that the relationship is working.
The effectiveness of mentoring is linked to the amount of time that a mentor and protégé work together. The
time involvement of the partnership should be mutually agreed upon and is suggested that a minimum of one
hour per month in any configuration, i.e. face-to-face, phone call, or e-mail.
The proximity of the mentor/protégé will be taken into consideration when matches are made so that every
effort can be made to meet face-to-face. Everyone is extremely busy but it is important to maintain a dialogue
whether it be face-to-face, phone call or e-mail.
Timeframe:
The partnership will be reviewed after three months after which the relationship can be continued or ended.
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